Imagine well-informed people, who know how to present their ideas and opinions to others, who actually listen to each other, who balance all their interests and visions and make decisions together. Nobody wins the-winner-takes-all prize, and, meanwhile, everyone is reaching a compromise. Authorities who sponsor 'open day' activities explain how they govern their jurisdictions. For us in the West, this all doesn't sound so incredible - even though many things still go wrong here as well -but in many parts of the world, this is only a very distant ideal.

When she was dreaming her dreams of a transparent and democratic society, Awimbo deliberately referred back to the ancient African consultation model of the palaver, which is a kind of meeting that often takes place outdoors, in the shade of a tall tree like the baobab, where people keep on talking as long as necessary until everyone comes to an agreement. The palaver is not hindered by agendas and schedules. The palaver is a typical African method and reflects the African rhythm of life.

The palaver has not disappeared; it is still very alive in rural areas, although the related notion of self-governance has faded into the background. Since the colonial powers began their domination of Africa, the traditional chiefs - as the major consultants - came under government control long ago. Awimbo considers the palaver to be an expression of self-governance. "In a certain sense, I want to recuperate this traditional way of making decisions, with people governing themselves. It's a system that is quite understandable. The elders determined when the seeds were to be planted, and when it was time to harvest the crops, how the harvest was to be divided, and what part of the harvest was for the poor. But the world has changed. I also want women and young people to be given a place." She laughs: "We no longer want a group of old men making all the decisions."

However, this form of local government takes courage, as Awimbo notes: "The courage to stop complaining, to take your life into your own hands, and to actively contribute to the development of your own neighbourhood, community and country." Awimbo, who lives in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa, supports organisations in Eastern Africa that play a role in local palaver activities. The "Capacity for courage" is what she calls it, the ability to be brave. "I want to strengthen that capacity. This requires people being informed and feeling responsible for making decisions on how they want to live and where." Awimbo is convinced that people want this and, "because they don't lend themselves to pre-programming," the results are impossible to predict.

"We are not as brave as we should be," Awimbo observes. When she says 'we', she means: 'we, Africans'. Too many people prefer hiding behind others because then they don't have to take action themselves. "If you speak with them, they say: 'we don't know because no one tells us'." She also blames those in power, who are interested in keeping others poorly informed. This turns the search for truth into an almost impossible task. "It has everything to do with power and control." Most African politicians and traditional local chiefs don't like sharing information. Officials at the district and central government levels are unwilling (or barely able) to provide information that would enable people to make informed decisions about their own lives. She is not positive about the media either: "We have radio, television and newspapers, but journalists do not provide us with the information necessary to close the gaps in our knowledge." The result, Awimbo believes, is that many people have a distorted world view. "They think it is inevitable that some people dominate others. Or that change is simply impossible."

Acting Based on the TruthAs a result, the problems of our time will continue to fester. "Everyone knows by now that natural recourses are rare. But few people are willing to seek out alternatives. They're afraid that they'll have to change their lives. This also applies to climate change. People deny that it exists because they're afraid of the consequences of recognising this phenomenon. So we need people who are able to accept, and act from, the truth. That is what I mean with 'capacity for courage'. They - and in fact this goes for all of us -must learn to face the truth and act accordingly."

When people have access to better information and are better able to understand how they are being governed, they can respond creatively, suggesting their own ideas instead of simply waiting. "And we should have the courage and determination to demand the same of our brothers and sisters, children, neighbours, friends, and colleagues."

Awimbo's ideal is to have "open days" during which authorities from all levels of government explain what they do, the decisions they make and their performances, and also discuss this with their employers. Awimbo believes this does not necessarily entail, for example, the number of public toilets built, but should focus mainly on informing the citizenry. "In other words: What have the authorities, from a ministry or a municipal government office, done to increase the 'governance literacy' of its citizens?"

Breeding GroundsCitizens also need to get to work. Awimbo encourages them to express their ideas about how society should be governed, and to test those ideas against the opinions of others. She calls it a breeding ground: where people have the necessary space to safely discuss their ideas. "If you have an idea about your town or your neighbourhood, you need to be able to figure out if it works. Whether it is a good or a bad idea and without automatically having to join a political party. People have to feel that, through negotiation and compromise, they can achieve maybe 70 instead of 100 percent of their wishes, but that, in this way, the other parties will also be satisfied."

Why not leave this task to the politicians? Isn't that why they were elected? Awimbo: "Many people don't understand that the government is there to implement the wishes of the people. They have no idea how they can exercise their influence. We must take responsibility for our own lives. But for the record: the breeding grounds are not there to replace politics, they are there to influence the decision-making processes."

Enhanced governance is not the ultimate goal; Awimbo wants to improve governance over all of the nation's natural resources. "It's our water, our air, our country - what we designate as cropland, what land we need to build houses and businesses, how extensive agricultural production should be. Those kinds of decisions."

Awimbo's ideas stem from her profession as an ecologist; she studies the relationship between plants, animals and humans in an effort to create ecological harmony. This is quite tricky because each of the elements gets in the way of the others. The solution is a compromise in which everyone gives in a little. "I am particularly interested in how ecology affects people's lives."

Awimbo works together with local community organisations to carefully examine how to preserve special natural habitats, without it having an adverse effect on the people who depend on these areas for their livelihood. In other words, with and by these people. "In Africa, nature preserves are often precisely where people live. The worst thing that can happen - and which often indeed does happen! - is that decisions concerning the protection of ecologically important sites are made at the national government level, and thus excludes the people most affected by the decisions. The question thus becomes: for whose benefit are you protecting these areas? The interests of nature obviously do not always coincide with those of the people. So a balance between the two must be found and compromises must be made. A forest where a community harvests honey is essential for the people who live there: it is their traditional way of life. They sell their honey in neighbouring communities. If the forest becomes a totally protected preserve, the local residents can no longer use it to cultivate their honey and they would be prohibited from chopping down trees to create areas for their beehives. Maybe others can do this, but by rigorously protecting the forest from everyone, you also prevent the people who have a vested interest in actually protecting it from having access to it."

'Nairobi Used to Decide Everything'Top-down decision-making is the normal practice in much of Africa. But Awimbo has observed some changes. Kenya's government is located in Nairobi, the capital, but it is in the process of transferring more and more power to the provinces. "Nairobi used to decide everything. Even the notion of 'local' used to be defined at the central government level. That does not work in a large and diverse country like Kenya. You cannot govern a big city in the same way you do an agrarian community. One perfect solution for all of the different regions is not feasible."

The Kenyan government has established numerous Community Forests Associations together with the local communities in Kenya's swampy coastal region. They give the local people the power to manage and protect their own mangrove forests. They can also analyse whether protection of the natural habitat is possible without adversely affecting local fishing. "This is what we are negotiating now. Twenty years ago, this would have been impossible in Kenya. But after much pressure from the people, it now works. Those in power have always considered the Kenyan people as a source of cheap labour, but never as a part of the decision-making process. That is changing now. That gives me much hope."

What also makes her hopeful is how the mass media in her country are changing. "Fifty years ago, the media were totally controlled by the government and wealthy businessmen. Now anyone can voice his or her opinion. So change is possible."

Experiencing the beauty of a forest while having dinnerJanet Awimbo (1964) has been protecting nature and involving people in this effort for over twenty years. She focuses on educating and training people (capacity building), so that they can better employ their talents and skills to take their lives into their own hands. She also teaches (local) governments how to negotiate with each other and how to reach compromises. She also works on social and environmental justice, including through the Global Greengrants Fund, which she coordinates in Eastern Africa. This fund provides small grants to local groups. "For example, we have given money to a group of people who are protecting a mangrove forest near the coast. They started a restaurant with this money. That attracts people who can experience the value and beauty of the forest."Awimbo has previously worked for organisations such as the Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI), the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), the Impact Alliance, Pact Kenya and the NGO Resource Centre (Zanzibar). She is now a senior consultant with Casework Equatorial, helping individuals and organisations in coastal Kenya become agents of positive change.

Clive Chibule from Zambia won the Gender Just Climate Solutions Award at the climate conference in Katowice, Poland. His project "Community strategies for climate-resilient livelihoods" aims at training rural women on leadership and climate resilience. A very important project, as Zambia is already feeling the effects of climate change, and rural women are affected most.

During the 24th Conference of the Parties (COP24) of the UNFCCC taking place in Katowice, Both ENDS partner Raju Pandit Chettri – director of Prakriti Resources Centre in Nepal - was one of the selected Southern leaders to meet with the Dutch Minister of Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, Sigrid Kaag. We asked Raju about his expectations, messages, Kaag's responses and his experiences of the meeting.

An Open Letter to States and Development Financiers on the need to ensure that development interventions support the realization of human rights, safeguard human rights defenders and guarantee meaningful public participation

On Thursday, November 29, seven suspects of the murder of Berta Cáceres (in March 2016) were found guilty. Members of the indigenous human rights organisation COPINH, of which Cáceres was the leader, and close relatives of Cáceres herself see the ruling as the first step towards justice for her murder and the recognition that the company DESA is co-responsible for this. They also point out, however, that the process was permeated with corruption, intimidation and other abuses from the very beginning, and that the masterminds behind the murder are still walking around freely.

Today, the Right Livelihood Awards 2018 will be presented in Stockholm. One of the four people who will receive the prize this year is Yacouba Sawadogo, 'the man who stopped the desert'. Yacouba, a farmer from Yatenga, Burkina Faso, is one of the founders of so-called 'Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration' with which degenerated and dry areas are becoming green and fertile again. According to Both ENDS, Yacouba's award is very well-deserved!

The production of palm oil is often accompanied by deforestation, environmental destruction and land grabbing. Local communities and activists who stand up against these problems are often threatened. Now the RSPO has taken significant steps in recent months to tackle these issues.

On Wednesday, November 14, Dutch Newspaper De Volkskrant published a joint op-ed by Both ENDS, Hivos, Greenpeace Netherlands and Witness about the deforestation in the Amazon region which is still going on rapidly, having disastrous consequences for the indigenous people who live in the area, for biodiversity and for the climate. The Netherlands is one of the largest buyers of Brazilian agricultural products such as soy and beef, and should ensure that deforestation, land grabbing and human rights violations do not occur in these production chains. Unfortunately, this is not at all the case yet.

Every 10 years, the mandate and activities of 'Export Development Canada' (EDC), the Canadian export credit agency, are reviewed. Since the last review took place in 2008, another review is currently underway. Both ENDS and a couple of other CSOs working from a number of countries made a joint submission as formal input to the legislative review. We did this especially in light of the Canadian governments' ambition to show leadership on climate change and to prioritise climate change action and clean economic growth.

The sixth High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was held at the UN Headquarters in New York in July 2018. The HLPF provides an opportunity to review global progress towards achieving the SDGs and for countries to present their own Voluntary National Reviews of the implementation of the SDGs. At this year's HLPF, SDG 15, known as the 'Life on Land'-goal, was under review.

In 2016, the state forest around the community of Kasepuhan Karang, in Java, Indonesia, was transformed into customary lands. With these newly acquired land tenure rights, the community has started initiatives to use their land in a sustainable and inclusive way. What this means for the community in terms of livelihoods and food security, became clear during a field visit at the start of the Global Land Forum 2018.

Last September, approximately 30 women and men from community based organizations of Honduras and El Salvador learned the tool of analog forestry which uses natural forests as guides to create ecologically stable and socio-economically productive landscapes.

We are very proud that our director Daniëlle Hirsch has been included again in the ‘Sustainable 100’ (an annual ranking list published by Dutch newspaper Trouw), and has gone up more than 40 spots compared to last year! Danielle was included in the list because of the many things she does with her organisation as a whole, but she got the higher ranking for the way she combines her criticism of the destructive role of the Netherlands as a trading nation and large cause of CO2 emissions in the world (often supported by the Dutch government), with a constructive attitude when it comes to finding alternatives and solutions.

From the first moment I arrive in Surabaya, I enter the rollercoaster called ECOTON. I'm visiting them to get to know the work of this long-time Both ENDS partner, and have only three days for this. But ECOTON does a lot, and all of it at the same time. Tirelessly, they work on the protection of the Brantas River.

In 2001 Tanzania and the Netherlands signed a treaty only known to a few; a so-called Bilateral Investment Treaty aimed "to extend and intensify the economic relations between them and to stimulate the flow of capital and technology and the economic development of the Contracting Parties". But signing the treaty was in fact mainly a symbolic act which since then has had little if any effect in this respect. In fact, a report by the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis found that BITs have no positive effect on investment in low and lower middle income countries located in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa, including Tanzania.

We congratulate Joan Carling, member of the permanent commission on indigenous peoples of the UN, for having received the Lifetime Achievement Award as 'Champion of the Earth' by the UN Environment! This is the UN's highest environmental honor, given to six of the world's most outstanding environmental change makers once a year.

Our mission

Together with environmental justice groups from the Global South, Both ENDS works towards a sustainable, fair and inclusive world. We gather and share information about policy and investments that have a direct impact on people and their livelihood, we engage in joint advocacy, we stimulate the dialogue between stakeholders and we promote and support sustainable local alternatives.